Westminster's first principal was Mr. Bert Beattie. In February
1962 while he was principal of London Junior High in the old Normal
School on Elmwood Ave. at Wortley Road, Mr Beattie began hiring
staff and organizing Westminster in preparation for it's opening.

The department heads were mature and caring (many having come from
days with Mr.Beattie at South Secondary School) but many of the
new staff were young and single. In fact, there were seven marriages
of staff couples in the first several years. From the very start
of this wonderful school, now celebrating 50 years of proud history,
there was a great team feeling.

The close knit, enthusiastic group of students who attended London
Junior High (because a high school was not yet built for them),
became the senior students and leaders in Grade 11 at the new school.
While at Junior High, the students fondly remember the third floor
"attic" as their gym and the second floor staircase landings as
their dressing rooms.

The new Westminster Secondary School building on Base Line Road
was still incomplete in September of 1962, so the students (including
a large number of Lucas area students) attended Wheable Secondary
School while they waited for their new schools to be completed.
The staff _ students of Wheable attended classes in the morning
and the Westminster staff _ students attended afternoon shifts,
ending at 5:45 pm each day. These original students recall not starting
classes until noon hour and then boarding the buses in the dark
and arriving at their country homes in the pitch black of a winter's
night.

Westminster was opened officially in February of 1963. (The Lucas
students left and moved into their new school in September of 1963).
The building was impressive but many features weren't quite finished.
Some of those wearing contact lenses wore only one at a time so
the other eye could heal from the concrete and plaster dust constantly
in the air. A few mice occupied the bottoms of lockers using the
drain holes in each locker to enjoy meals from the lunch bags stored
there.

The Westminster student body was now comprised of students who lived
nearby in the Westminster school neighbourhood, as well as students
bussed from the areas of Byron, Lambeth, Belmont, Delaware, Glendale,
Glanworth, Muncey and Kilworth. There were around 1200 of them.
The energy of this new student body was amazing and the mainly 15
and 16 year olds stepped up to lead the activities and set high
academic standards for the balance of their years there.

When Westminster finally opened, there were about 40 grade 9 and
10 classes along with a few Grade 11 students. These Grade 11 students
had started their high school days in Grade 9 at Junior High ......
moved on to Grade 10 at Junior High and then finally became the
senior class of Grade 11's at Westminster (there were no 12's or
13's when the school opened). These Grade 11's had a very unique
high school experience ........ they were always in a senior class
....... from Grade 9 right through to Grade 13.

In June of 1965, these students became the very first Grade 13 Westminster
graduates.

And this was the beginning of Wildcat Pride!

Westminster today...

Westminster's current principal is
Sheila Powell. She has maintained the great team feeling that was
established in 1962 by her predecessor, Mr. Beattie. The staff continues
to be a caring group of individuals and now includes five teachers
who were former students! Obviously there is something special about
a school that compels graduates to return as educators of the next
generation.

The student body is still comprised
of students who live nearby in the Westminster school neighbourhood,
as well as students who are bussed to the school. However, rather
than traveling from the villages outside the city of London, the
students who are bussed come from the subdivision of White Oaks.
Another big change is that thirty-one percent of current students
originally called countries other than Canada home.

In 1991, the English as a Second
Language Department was established at Westminster. As a result
of this new department, students come from fifty different countries
and speak twenty-one different languages. This unique student body
reflects the changing face of our nation, and provides rich learning
experiences for today's Wildcats.

When alumni return for the reunion,
they will recognize their old haunts, because the building itself
has not changed a great deal. Fortunately, there is one difference:
there is no more chalk dust to bother students' eyesight. And that's
a good thing, because they need those eyes to focus on the computer
screens, data projectors, document cameras, clickers, and other
types of technology that have become common in the classrooms.

There are now students from Grade
9 to 12. They continue to uphold high academic standards and excel
in extra-curricular pursuits. They also embrace the diversity of
their racial, cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds. Although
it is celebrating fifty years of history, Westminster is, in many
ways, the secondary school of the future.

In June of 2015, today's Grade 9
students will be the 50th class to graduate from the school. They
will no doubt continue the tradition of Wildcat Pride that began
in 1962.